Last season, my primary complaint about the new Doctor Who was that, episode after episode, the Doctor never saved the day. Today’s episode, the conclusion to last week’s “Rise of the Cybermen”, reverts to last season’s habit and I didn’t mind one bit.
As London falls to the Cybermen and the world looks poised to follow, Mickey Smith, that blundering idiot from last season, after watching his alternate self die, steps up to the plate (and with a bit of direction from the Doctor) saves the day.
While Mickey hard a great day, Rose didn’t fare so well: She looses Mickey forever, her “father” rejects her in the end and her “mother” is converted to a Cyberman. Perhaps it’s cosmic karma paying Rose back for being such a annoying person for most of this season.
The pace is in this episode was a full-tilt the whole time, mixing a good balance of running, danger and action. There’s also some well-realized suspense and sadness. There’s a touching moment where a Cyberman’s personality and emotions are turned back on and the Doctor kills her rather than let her suffer.
Just as he was getting useful, we loose Mickey forever in this episode – stranded in a alternate universe that conventional wisdom says can never be reached again. “Conventional wisdom” doesn’t hold up well in TV Science Fiction and I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see Mickey again, despite the odds.
Besides, unlike the Daleks which were realized largely with CGI, they spent too much money on those Cybermen costumes not to use them again.
This two-part episode is destined to be a Doctor Who classic.
Technorati Tags: Blog, Doctor Who, Review
1 thought on “Doctor Who – The Age of Steel – Review”
Comments are closed.